Well its almost the end of January so time to start the pre trip planning of my annual LA holiday.

This year Im doing things a bit different. I am doing Disney at the start of my trip instead of at the end. I have booked a different hotel this year. In previous years I have stayed at Motel 6 and need to use the local bus to get to Disney. This year I have booked Desert Inn and Suites, which is directly across the road from the pedestrian entrance to Disney. This hotel has breakfast included and an indoor pool. This year I am just going to get a 2 day 1 park ticket. On previous years I have got park hopper tickets. Alot of the time I went over to the second park just for a few hours, just because I could. This year I have decided just to stay both days in the main park.

After my 2 days in Disney I will transfer to LA. This year I have booked AirBnB for the first time. I have booked a studio apartment which is only used for AirBnB stays. I am staying in South Pasadena, about 1 mile from where my friends live. I dont drive so I made sure that the AirBnB place is close to the Metro station and bus stops so that I can get to places like Hollywood. Staying in AirBnB means that I can stay longer in LA.

Now that my flights and accommodation is booked I can start the fun stuff, planning my days and what I want to do

thanks This year in Disney as Im just staying in the main park, maybe I can take things a bit easier. Im going to book Blue Bayou (Pirates Restaurant) as usual and for the second day Im going to try one of the Disney Hotel Restaurants.

Fantasmic should be back in time for my trip, so most likely I will do the meal and show package.

The restaurant reservations only open 60 days in advance so I have a bit of time to wait. I wonder about opening times this year, last year was the first year they changed the park closing from midnight to 11pm. It might not seem that much but it really made a difference.

I ate at both Storyteller's Café and Napa Rose at the Grand Californian during my trip in October, both are really nice.

Napa Rose is absolutely stellar and anything but cheap, but if you can spare the money, I'd go for this one.

Storyteller's Café is interesting in that it's both a buffet and a table-service restaurant with the option to enjoy either (not sure if you could do both though). It's friendlier to the wallet, and the food quality is great.

This exact time in 3 weeks I will be on the plane to California, time to update this thread

Supershuttle booked for transport from LAX airport to hotel in Anaheim

Disneyland tickets booked with Last Minute Travel Club, 2 days 1 park tickets. Worked out $20 cheaper than buying direct from Disneyland website. I have an E Ticket which will get scanned at the entrance turnstile and be exchanged for the actual park ticket

Main Street Electric Parade Dining package booked for Blue Bayou restaurant for day one in the park

Day 2 in the park I am doing 2 quick service meals, lunch at Redd Rocketts Pizza Port and evening at Bengal Barbecue

After lunch on day 2 I plan to take the Monorail to Downtown Disney and go to the Grand California Hotel to have a Glowtini cocktail.

After my 2 days in Disney I will be heading into LA. I will be using the city bus and tram network during the rest of my trip. Last year I got a TAP card, with is similar to the Oyster card in London. I registered the card online and logged in and was able to check my balance. I have enough left on the card from last year for my first few days in LA, which is great as I will be getting the 460 bus from Anaheim to Downtown LA and transferring to the Metro to get to South Pasadena.

This year in LA me and my friends are doing things a bit slower and not trying to cram in as much activities. So far all we have planned in a day doing the Hop On Hop Off bus, going to the Warner Brothers Studio Tour in Burbank and a shopping day. We are getting the Hop On Hop Off bus tickets and the Warner Brothers Studio Tour tickets this week